Alexandra Udinov
by agsw14
Summary: A story of Alexandra Udinov's life before Nikita and Division. Read and Enjoy! Hopefully! Reviews are greatly appreciated!
1. Chapter 1

The frigid Russian winter weather nipped at my nose as I ran from Yuri through the snow covered yard. My long brunette ponytail swished behind me as we ran around to the side of the Udinov Mansion. We were having a snowball fight. I backed Yuri into a corner next to the basement cellar door. With a glint in my crystal colored blue eyes he knew the game was over. I threw the snowball in my hand, not realizing that it was an ice ball. It hit Yuri square in the chest, knocking the air out of his lungs. Before I could apologize he sent one whizzing my way. I reacted, but not quickly enough. The compacted ice smashed into my left shoulder, almost knocking me over.

As I regained my balance I remembered what Papa had told me about showing weakness, so I took a deep breath and worked through the pain. But when my eyes fell on Yuri's freckled, pale face he had tears tugging at the corner of his dark coffee colored eyes. I brushed the blondish- brown hair out of his eyes and recited in English what my Papa had taught me.

"Yuri, do not cry it is a sign of weakness." Papa had made me promise to practice my English.

"I'm not crying Alexandra" he shouted back in choppy English as he swatted away my hand.

Just then Papa and Ivan, Yuri's Papa and my Papa's body guard, rounded the corner. Ivan looked so much shorter next to my Papa's tall and lean figure. They were deep in discussion, no doubt talking about my Papa's oil company, Zetrov.

"Papa! You are here!" I cried, flinging myself into him for a big hug, he had been in meetings all day.

"Alexandra what happened?" Papa asked I saw worry in his deep blue eyes. "We heard shouting."

"Is everything alright?" Ivan asked in his heavy Russian accent.

"Yes everything is fine Papa, me and Yuri were just having some fun." I replied.

"Not uh, Alexandra hit me with an ice ball" Yuri whined.

Fear shot through me not wanting to disappoint my Papa, but instead of scolding me Papa said:

"Play nice Alexandra" and with a wink and a chuckle he brushed off the incident.

"Let's go Yuri it's time for dinner" Ivan said. "I will be back later for my night shift" and with a handshake from my Papa they were off.

Papa led me inside the house. We walked through the decorative hallways plastered with paintings of Russian leaders and scenery. We made our way to the dining room. The room was grand, so there would always be room for Papa's guest. The walls were painted a deep red and a dark chestnut colored table with matching chairs sat upon the hardwood floor .The warm house and smells of the delicious food comfort me. I never want to leave my home.

After dinner I try to sneak upstairs to listen to my American music, but Papa catches me and takes my mp3 player away.

"Alexandra, you know what I told you about listening to the American music, yes? "He inquired.

"Yes Papa" I said handing over the device.

I pretend to pout before getting ready for bed. With the smells of the upcoming Christmas holiday, the warm blankets and the glistening white yard outside my window, I fell asleep happier than I had been in a while.

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My eyes flash open and the clock next to my bed reads 2:15am. I hear loud noises and see smoke rising into my room from underneath the door. Panic flashes through me. I get up quickly and run out into the hallway. Smoke and fire swirls around me. I run towards my parents' room but I feel a hand grab my wrist and yank me in the opposite direction. I scream.

"Shhhh Alexandra it is me" Papa says. "This way, run hurry!"

"What about Mama?" I cry out. Just then I hear her scream and two gun shots fired. I twist my wrist from Papas hold.

"Mama!" I shriek, running towards her scream. But Papa regains his tight grip on me.

"It is too late Alexandra," he says and I see tears threatening to fall from his eyes.

"It is too late" he murmurs again.

He pulls me kicking and screaming to another room. Tears well up in my eyes and pain hits me like I have never felt before_. Mama was really gone. What was happening? Who were these people? Why did they kill Mama? What was going to happen to me and Papa?_ My beloved house was burning all around us. I feared we would never make it out alive. Papa pulls me into a spare room blazing with fire and pushes me under the bed.

"Stay here and hide Alexandra! Please be quiet" he shouts over the roaring fire and gun shots.

Just then I hear a crack and the wooden door falls before me. I wince but following Papa's orders I stay silent. I look under the bed to see a pair of tall black laced boots stomp through the door and into the room. Before I can react I hear two very loud shots next to me and I see Papa fall in front of me.

"Papa, NO!" I cry out. Tears that had been threatening to fall after Mamas death spill out of my eyes now. I feel like I can't move. The fear and sadness is paralyzing me.

"Alexandra" he says life rushing out of him.

That is the last thing I ever hear him say. Just than the person with the tall boots that murdered my Papa, came closer to the bed. I try to scream but nothing comes out. I am on the brink of full on hysteria. I am losing control of myself, trying hard to focus and see through the smoke that is clogging my brain and eyes. Refocusing my eyes I see the sparkle of my Papas wristwatch. I take it from his lifeless body. Clutching it close to my body. The mysterious person that killed my Papa reaches under the bed and drags me out. I scream and kick, my limbs thrashing out in every direction. I look at Papa's motionless face one last time before I black out from smoke inhalation and panic.

**Hey guys this is my first fiction so please tell me how I did! Reviews are greatly appreciated! New chapters to come if you guys like it!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Hey guys thanks so much for reading and reviewing I really appreciated it! Here is the new chapter let me know what you think! Rate and Review!**

**As always I don't own the show or the characters (I wish)**

* * *

I began to wake up as I feel the cushion underneath me rattle. _Where am I?_ _Did_ _I fall asleep in Papa's car again?_ But the encounters of his murder and the burning of my much loved house all came rushing back into my head. My eyes flash open, wanting to escape the horrors of my own mind. My eyes begin to focus and I realize I am in the back of Papa's car with his own personal driver, Igor.

"Help!" I try and scream, but my throat is so hoarse and scratchy from the screaming and smoke that all that follows is a violent episode of coughing. I struggle to sit up but my body is so tired and achy I decide it is best for me to lie down.

"Where are you taking me?" I manage to squeak out. Igor looks at me in his rearview mirror. I catch a look of sadness and concern in his deep brown eyes. I wonder why?

"We will be there soon." He replies in a monotone voice.

"But," I try to go on, but he shushes me.

"No more questions Alexandra." He replies with a sigh.

_Considering my house just burned down, a group of people killed my Mama and Papa, but not me, and now I am in the back of a car with him, I do not think I have asked that many questions_. For a while I lay in the back seat as Igor drives into the unknown. I try to gather my thoughts on what happened last night and how I got here. Everything came back in a flash. The fire, my mother's screams my father's body and the tall ominous boots. Thinking of my family brings tears to my eyes, I choke back a sob. It takes every power in my body not to lay there and cry my eyes out. Papa's voice comes to me _show strength in the presents of others Alexandra_. The memories of his lessons bring another round of tears to my eyes. _What will I do without you Papa? _It was like one big nightmare. Whenever I had a bad dream Mama would come into my room, pull me into her arms, rock me back and forth and whisper calming words to me. I want nothing more than to have her right by my side now, comforting me. But I am alone. I shudder and push the thoughts out of my mind. Papa had told me to face my fears, but this was one I am not yet ready to face. Igor interrupts my thoughts by handing me a glass of water, which I take graciously. My throat is killing me.

"Alexandra" he begins. "There are people looking for you."

"Who?" I ask. _Does he know who killed my parents?_

"Dangerous people, no one can know you are Alexandra Udinov, daughter of Nikoli Udinov and heir to the Zetrov throne. If they do they will kill you." He says.

_Who would want kill me or my family? What did we ever do to anyone?_

"Why?" I ask.

"I do not know Alexandra." He admits. "You must now go by the name of Sasha. You must never reveal who you are. To the world Alexandra Udinov is dead and it must stay that way."

"Forever?" I whisper.

He just nods. _All of this is too much for me. I cannot even go by my own name any more. Sasha? _Just then we pull into a parking lot behind an old, abandoned warehouse by the docks. I begin to feel dizzy, the colors and shapes start to spin around me. _Had Igor put something in my drink? _Then everything fades into darkness around me.

The next thing I know I am cold and uncomfortable. My eyes open and focus on the bars around me. I am curled up in a fetal position. I try to straighten up but I smack my head on something above me. I then notice that I am in a cage of some sort. Like an animal. _Where am I_? I cannot see much because there is a cloth covering the cage I am in, but I can hear and smell a lot. I hear several men laughing and discussing something in Russian. But the drugs are making my mind all fuzzy. I cannot process what they are saying. From what I can hear they were slurring there words so I figure they are drunk. The smell of alcohol in the air confirms it. I try to reposition myself, to be more comfortable, but this create they have me in will not allow it. I peer out from behind the cloth to see a tall, frightening man with grayish brown hair and a small beard hand Igor a huge wad of money. He is laughing and taking a swig of the alcohol in his glassNow the drugs are starting to wear off and I can make due of what they are saying:

"This will more than compensate for what the girl will pay me in return." The frightening man says.

I shudder the man gives me the chills and I decide I do not like him or what he said about me. _Why am I in a cage? What is the scary man going to do with me? Why did he give Igor so much money?_ Slowly everything starts to come together in my head. _He sold me! On the black market! Igor sold me into slavery! _I had heard rumors about what happened to girls my age that got sold into slavery and that scares me. The tall, frightening man walks over towards me. I take a deep breath and try to put on my best "I am not afraid of you face". He pulls back the cloth that is blocking my view. His face is very close to me. If it were not for the bars separating us we would have been touching. I lean back from the cage. His shiny blue eyes glint with mischief.

"Hello Sasha, I am Vladimir but you can call me Vlad." he says in a disturbing voice.

I repeat in my head _I am Alexandra Udinov_ so I do not forget. Igor glances over tentatively with a worrisome and apologetic look on his face as Vlad studies me.

"This one will do more than fine" he says to Igor, waving him off.

"Go to hell." I mutter in Russian.

Suddenly he leans in and grabs me by the collar of my jacket and yanks me towards him, cracking my head on the bars that surround me.

"You will always speak English around me and be respectful. My clients do not pay for the girls to speak a language they do not understand. Got it bitch?" he asks in his heavy Russian accent.

I just glare back at him but immense fear flashes through me. I try to keep a straight face. With one more look at me he backs up and drops the cloth. As soon as I am out of his sight I let out a shaky breath I had been holding. Tears threaten to fall but I remember Papa's lessons. I wipe my eyes and take a couple more deep breaths. I hear Vlad and his other men talking about getting me on the next ship out with all the other girls. _There are others? _I am petrified. After what seems like hours of arguing between the men, but could have only been a few minutes, I peer out from behind the cloth. Just in time to see Vlad pull a shotgun from the small of his back. Bang! The bullet enters Igor's brain. I scream. Vlad turns to me and a sly grin creeps across his face.

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	3. Chapter 3

**Hey guys here is a new chapter! Please let me know how you like it! Your reviews motivate me to write more!**

The sly grin on Vlad's face sends shudders through out my body. I am breathing heavy now, terrified of Vlad. I curl up in the back of the cage stifling a scream. Igor's eyes are glazed over and a look of surprise is plastered on his face. _Why did he kill Igor? Is he going to kill me?_ Hundreds of questions fly through my head. Tears are welling up in my eyes for the fourth time today. _Why am I upset for Igor? He just sold me into slavery?_ Vlad walks over to Igor taking the money out of his pocket and hands it off to the nearest man. I study the man because the look on his face is different from the others. The other men are laughing and clapping, but this one has a look of horror on his face. Vlad crosses the room to a table with a rag and a bottle of clear liquid. The man that Vlad handed the money approaches my cage. He bends down next to me while Vlad's back is turned.

"Try to calm down Sasha, Vlad feeds on weakness in the girls." He says. The look in his sparkling green eyes convinces me to trust him. I restore my breathing to a normal rate.

"You are not like the others Sasha. You are strong; I can see it in your eyes. Do not let Vlad take that away from you. I cannot promise you will get out of this but if there was a girl who could, it would be you. I will be stationed in America, as a guard for Vlad; I will do what I can for you." He says.

_America? I had seen things on the television about America but I had never been. I am scared. Papa disapproved of the Americans._

"Who are you? Why are you helping me?" I ask.

"I am Viktor and you are the first girl I have seen come through here with a chance." He remarks.

He backs away quickly as Vlad finishes pouring the liquid on the cloth and walks towards me. He crouches down in front of my cage. I put on a straight face, focusing my eyes away from Igor's body.

"What is that for?" I ask, shifting my eyes to the wet cloth in his hands. He chuckles

"You will see." he says.

"I like you Sasha" he says, tracing his finger down my face. I pull away from him. This angers him.

"Not even a death right in front of your eyes phases you." he remarks nodding to Igor's body.

_He has no idea the fear and sadness that fills me. I just want the killing to stop. How had my life gotten so turned around?_ But I follow Viktor's advice and I show no fear.

"If you do not follow the rules, Sasha, I will be forced to do unto you what I have done to Igor." Vlad says.

I flinch a little at this but for the most part I keep my straight face. This frustrates him.

"Well Sasha let us get the show on the road or should I say sea." He smiles at this.

I gulp. And with this his hand slips through the cage and wraps around my mouth. I scream and thrash, banging my body on the cage around me. Until the smell of chloroform knocks me out.

/

_What is with these people and knocking me out? _I wonder before opening my eyes. I hear mumbles, sobs and sniffles around me. As well as smell something stale in the air. _Where am I?_ My eyes open slightly, but this hurts my head. I shut them again. I sit up carefully this time not wanting to hit my head again. But there is no cage. My whole body aches from where I was flailing around in the cage. I open my eyes carefully and the breath is almost taken out from me. There are about 30 some girls ranging from a little older than me to 18 bunched in the small room. As I look around I seem to be the youngest one there.

"You are awake, good" the closest girl says to me.

I jump a little.

"I am Irina and you are?" she continues. Her English is pretty good but her Russian accent is apparent. I study her, she has long black hair and she looks to be about 5"7", but we are sitting down. She looks to me for an answer.

"Sasha" I tell her with a half-smile. She does not seem like Vlad and his men.

"What happened to you?" she asks gesturing to the bruises that cover me.

"Oh, I freaked out when Vlad tried to knock me out. I tried to fight." I said, a little shamefully.

"A fighter." I hear her comment under her breath. This brings a smile to both of our faces.

"How old are you?" she asks.

"Fourteen" I reply.

She sucks in a deep breath and worry flashes through her stunning blue eyes.

"I am 16, how did you get here?" She asks.

_Shit! I have not had time to make up a story. I will tell her the half-truth. _

"My parents died in a car accident and I had nowhere to go. A close family friend betrayed me and brought me to Vlad." I say trying to keep it short and sweet.

Before I had time to ask Irina how she got here she begins with more questions. I think she is trying to see how much I know about where we are and what we are here for.

"I know." I tell her

"You know what?" She asks, but she already knows the answer

"I know why we are here and what they are going to do with us." I reply.

"It is sick." She says. I hear her muttering in Russian under her breath about fourteen year old girls and older men.

I gulp thinking of what will happen when we get to America. We sit in silence for a minute. I look around since I had not really studied where we were. I see groups of girls huddled together. I hear murmurs of Russian and English. Most of the girls are crying. The room is square and way too small to hold the amount of girls in here. There is one light that hangs above us. It projects almost nothing, leaving the room quite dark. Water seeps up from the ocean below leaving everything wet and musty. Girls line the blank wall around us. Each girl is huddled with one blanket and one pillow. Not even close enough to keep us warm. All the girls including me are wearing simple black sweat pants, a white tank top, a hoodie and socks. Slip on shoes sit next to me. _How did I get these clothes on?_ Before I can ask Irina the door on my right bangs open and a guard marches in. I get hopeful that it is Viktor but the guard turns towards us and I see that it is not him.

"Let's go girls." He barks.

We file in a line down a hallway into a slightly bigger room lined with tables and chairs.

"Sit." He orders.

I chose a seat at the end of the farthest table. Irina takes her seat next to me. One guard comes by and hands each a bowl and a glass. Another pours water in all the glasses. Next Viktor comes around with soup for us. I guess you could call it soup it is more like cold water with mushed vegetables in it. Viktor ladles a little more in the bowl for me and Irina. The "soup" tastes awful, but it fills my stomach. The water feels good on my throat, which is still sore from the night of the fire. Irina interrupts my thoughts that were traveling back to the night of my family's death.

"What is this?" She asks, gesturing to the bowl of "soup".

"I do not know, but it is awful." I say with a giggle

We start to laugh but then Irina's tone changes to seriousness.

"One thing I can promise you, Sasha, is that it will get much worse when we reach the shore. " She says.

I shudder at what she's implying. With that we stand and bring our dishes to a bin on a table to our left. Once everyone has finished dinner we file back into the room we were in before, the living quarters. The guard from before stomps in and turns the dingy light off in the middle of the room. Irina and I huddle close together. She shares her blanket with me. _She is a protector; she will help me get through this trip. She is strong like me. We will get out together._

"Thank you, for everything." I whisper

"Good night Sasha" She replies.

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	4. Chapter 4

**Hey guys as usual I love reading your reviews! Shout out to chillthebeans for always reviewing! Thanks so much! Also I don't own the show.**

I wake up freezing cold on a hard surface. The bruises from the day before hurt my body more than yesterday. Especially the one from when Vlad almost cracked my head open on the cage. _He has some real anger issues_, I think. Yesterday's events fly through my head, Viktor, the ship, Igor and Irina. Irina! My eyes flicker open as I do not feel her body next to me. I sit up and look around. None of the girls lying down match Irina's long black hair and narrow face. _Did Vlad take her?_

"Sasha" I hear her whisper. I whip my head to the right. She is leaning up against the wall behind me, which is why I did not see her before.

"Irina you scared me. I thought Vlad had taken you." I say breathing a sigh of relief.

"No! I am just an early bird, my dad-"she cuts off.

I look at her with concern. She displays a fake smile on her face.

"I just wish I knew what time it is" she remarks. _Time! My papa's watch, what has happened to it?_ Fear and worry blazes through me. _I have lost the only thing that matters to me_. _The only thing I had left from my father._ Sorrow overcomes me. Tears fill my eyes.

"Sasha are you alright?" Irina asks me.

"Yes" I reply.

_No one can know who I am._ She is about to ask me what is wrong again, but the guard from the night before busts through the door again ringing a bell.

"Get up." he barks.

The girls that were not already awake sit up, yawn, and rub their eyes.

"Now." he shouts.

We scramble up and file into a line.

"Girls, there will be a schedule every day; you will do whatever we ask of you. Your jobs will rotate each day. As well as one girl will be chosen to visit Vlad's room." He tells us, a mischievous look in his eye tells me it is not good.

With that he turns and leads us out the door. He herds us down the narrow hallway back into the mess hall. Irina and I took our seats at the farthest table again. The line continues as it had last night, but this time Viktor fills our bowels with a watered down version of oatmeal. It is somehow worse than the "soup" from last night. On his way back Viktor stops by our table.

"Good morning Sasha." he says with his heavy Russian accent, slightly bending down in the process.

I feel a light weight drop into my hoodies pocket. He continues to march past our table. Irina gives me a strange look, but does not ask questions. I reach my hand into my pocket and feel the cold touch of metal on my fingers. I pull it out slightly from my pocket. The glint of my Papa's watch catches my eye! I start to tear up, silently thanking Viktor in my head. Clutching it close to my body I promise never to let it out of my sight again. Irina has a questionable look in her eye, but I ignore it and continue eating my breakfast.

After breakfast Irina and I begin working. Vlad has us girls doing every job imaginable. Today Irina and I are assigned to laundry. Each girl had two pairs of identical clothing; you wear one pair one day and wash the other and it repeats. I wash and Irina hangs the clothes to dry._ They will not dry in this boat everything is always wet, cold and musty._ I dip the clothes in the bin full of water and scrub them with a harsh soap scrubbing of a layer of my skin in the process. The water is so cold it is numbing my hands down to the bone. We finish the clothes and move on to the pillows and blankets. It takes us all day. Irina and I stay silent, not knowing if we are allowed to talk. It is actually nice it gives me some time to think to myself. The boat is so jam packed full of girls there really I no such thing as privacy anymore. I know it is getting close to dinner as my stomach aches with hunger. About an hour later a guard comes into the empty room and escorts me and Irina to the dining hall. The guards serve us the same as dinner the night before. After dinner we report back to our rooms to talk quietly. Irina and I begin to get to know each other. We start with simple questions, like our favorite colors.

"Blue" I reply.

"Green" she answers.

About ten minutes later the girl that was chosen to visit Vlad today stumbles in. She is significantly shorter than me and Irina; she had long auburn hair and bright green eyes. She is shaking and crying, her friends run up to her. We hear them whispering about what Vlad wanted. My stomach rolls. He is making us practice, for our jobs in America.

"Sasha?" Irina asks. I had drifted off into my own thoughts.

"Sorry" I reply.

"It is time for bed" she says.

"Goodnight Irina" I whisper as the guard turns the light out.

The next day after breakfast we are called to do dishes. This time Irina washes and I dry. After a while of silence Irina takes a deep breath.

"Do you want to know how I got here?" she asks, her voice trembling

"Only if want to tell me." I reply, but curiosity fills me.

"My family was dirt poor. We lived in the little town of Babushkin. My mother worked very hard to keep my father happy. He was a drunk, always buying more than we could afford. He treated me and my mother like slaves. "She laughs at the irony as we continue scrubbing the bowls of the oatmeal, which has started to harden to the side of the bowl.

"He was always ordering me to bring him more Vodki and always making me feel uncomfortable. Saying how beautiful I was and grabbing me if I did not bring him the drinks fast enough." Irina begins to cry.

I could see the pain in Irina's eyes. I felt closer to the girl then before, she was all I had left. I cross the room and pull her into a hug. I stroke her hair as her sobs shake her in my arms. After a minute she returns to the bin and continues with her story.

"One day, a few weeks ago, my mother fell ill and could not go to her job for weeks. We ran out of money. So my father dragged me to a shady warehouse, like the one I went to. He sold me for money and that was that." Tears were flowing out of Irina's eyes and she is shaking again.

"I trusted him, I thought he was harmless, he was my father." She cried.

Guilt flashes through me. _I had it a lot better off than lots of girls in Russia_. I take Irina's face in my hands and in Russian I share with her one of my Papa's lessons.

"You must stay strong Irina, it is the only way you will survive" I say. She takes a few shaky breathes beginning to calm down. Just then a guard bangs through the door,

"Irina!" he cried out. "It is your turn to visit Vlad."

Fear shoots through me; I cannot let her get hurt. I look to the strong, but now disheveled girl. Remembering what Viktor said about Vlad and weakness in the girls, I wipe my hands on the towel and walk towards the guard.

"Yes" I say. I see a look of surprise on Irina's face from the corner of my eyes.

"You are Irina?" he asks.

"Yes" I answer. A look of confusion flashes through his eyes, but he goes along with it. The playful glint returns to his eye. I turn and look at Irina. She tries to protest but the look in my shushes her. She mouths the words _thank you_ as she wipes the tears from her face. The guard leads me down the same hallway every room is on, but we take a right turn and venture down a new hallway. It looks identical to the other one but there is a door at the end of it. He marches up to it, but leans off to the side to stand next to the door. He motions for me to go in. I take a deep breath and try to swallow the lump in my throat, as my hand reaches for the door knob.

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	5. Chapter 5

**Hey guys here is another chapter! Let me know what you think! Reviews are greatly appreciated!**

My hand turns the cold, silver door knob and the door before me swings open. Vlad sits on a leather chair in the middle of the room. The room is slightly bigger than our living quarters. A desk is off to my right, a plush rug covers the floor and book shelves line the walls. _He gets all this and leaves us to die. _He looks up from the book he is reading.

"Sasha, what a nice surprise, I was not expecting to see you." He says with a grin on his face.

I shudder. _Just push through it. I am Alexandra Udinov I remind myself. If I am lucky it will only be an hour and half before I can see Irina again._ _I am going to need her help after this._

"Come," He commands gesturing to his lap. "Sit."

I slowly walk over and clamber up on to his lap. I position myself facing away from him. _He is sickening._ His cold fingers wrap around my face and turn me to look at him.

"Look at me Sasha." He orders.

His finger traces down my face. I lean away. He grabs my arm firmly, pulling me closer to him. I start to panic my heart is beating so fast and my breathing is speeding up.

"Sasha what are you so afraid of? This is your life now, I own you." he says. "And I can do whatever I want with you." his hands are traveling to my waist.

My eyes water a little, getting ready for the pain that is imminent. My Papa's face appears before my eyes. _Alexandra no one can control you if you do not let them._ I take a deep breath and decide to not let Vlad take away all I have left.

"Thank you Papa" I whisper.

"What was that you just said?" Vlad whispers in my ear.

"You do not control me." I yell spitting in his face.

He stands up and I fall to the ground. He snatches me up and slams me up against the wall.

"Sasha, you should not have done that" he says.

His hands wrap around my neck, choking me all the air in my lungs rushes out of me. I scramble around gasping for air. A smile spreads across Vlad's face as he pushes harder on my neck. My hands are punching him trying to push his weight off of me. Blackness starts to fade over me. I see Vlad's blue eyes and I plunge my fingernail into them. He lets go and screams. I gasp for air bending over and grabbing the wall to keep from passing out.

"You will pay for that bitch!" he screams.

I just glare back clutching my now bruised neck. He lunges at me and I move to my left. His hand pierces through the wood walls.

"Ahh! Guard!" he screams pulling his now bloody and splintered hand out of the wall.

I run towards the door, but it flings open in front of me. The guard stands blocking the door jam. I back away.

"Find the other girl, Irina, and kill her." Vlad spits before looking at me.

"No!" I scream barley getting the words out.

The guard turns and runs out the door. I run after him but Vlad grabs my hoodie. The guard runs out of sight

"No, Irina!" I shout and turn towards him; I try and struggle out of his grasp. He just laughs. I unzip my hoodie and shoulder it off before he has time to grab me. I race down the hallway, but the guard has vanished. _Where did he go?_ I hear screams coming from our living corners, I dash there. I bust through the door. Terrified girls stare back at me huddled in the corner. I look at all their faces but none of them are Irina.

"Where is she? "I scream in English. They look around confused. I try again this time in Russian. A brunette haired girl points to my left. I waste no time sprinting down the hallway, banging open doors.

"Irina!" I scream her name, my throat flaming in pain. There is no answer. Tears are streaming down my face. _If I lose her I will be all alone. It is my fault._

I hear a scream that is cut off coming from the mess hall. I turn and race towards it. I bust through the doors, but there is no sign of her. I open all the pantry doors, but still no Irina.

"Irina!" I yell again through my trembling voice.

I hear a clash of pans and bowls coming from the kitchen. I crash into the room. The guard stands over a bleeding Irina. I gasp as I see the knife sticking in her side.

"No!" I shout. I tackle the guard and we both fall to the ground. I straddle him and punch him repeatedly in the face slamming his head onto the ground until he is unconscious

"Sasha" I hear Irina croak.

"Yes yes I am here" I respond rushing over to her body she has pulled the knife out, but she is losing blood, fast. I grab the nearest towel and put pressure over the wound. She is as pale as a ghost. The pool of blood around her is getting bigger. I whimper through my sobs.

"Sasha" she tries again. She struggles to breathe. Her breaths are short and painful.

"Shh do not speak, stay with me please" I say.

_She is strong, she will make it_ I think to myself. She is breathing heavier now I check her pulse it is slow.

"Irina" I force her to look at me "I am so sorry this is all my fault, you can do this, stay alive please please" I say as sobs shake my whole body. I stroke her hair and wipe tears from her eyes.

"Irina you are so the strongest person I have met, to go through what you went through with your father and come out the girl that is here with me, I know I could not have done it." I say to her

This brings tears to Irina's eyes as she struggles to breathe through her sobs. _Damn it Alexandra you are supposed to be encouraging her to keep breathing not making her cry and making it harder for her to breath,_ I think to myself. She keeps herself breathing while I continue to do what I can for her. The bleeding is slowing and Irina is still alive. The door bangs open and two guards stalk in, one of them is Viktor. I shield Irina's body with mine. The other guard I hear Viktor call Nicholas comes closer to me.

"Get away from her!" I yell.

"I have orders not to touch her, you on the other hand" he says slyly.

He wrestles me kicking and screaming from Irina. I am covered in blood. I elbow his stomach and grab the nearest bowl. I slam it over his head and it shatters to a million pieces, some wedging in my hands and face. As he stumbles around grunting he grabs my wrist twisting it until it breaks. I scream clutching my wrist. Pain blazes in my hand, but I pry his fingers that are tightly laced on my wrist off and snap two of them in half. I rush back to Irina's side, throwing a pleading look at Viktor as Nicholas examines his wounds.

"Sasha you are hurt." Irina says.

"I am fine" I reply dabbing at gash on her side. I feel a hand on my shoulder. I turn ready for round two, but I find Viktor standing behind me.

"Sasha, go with him, I will look after Irina." he says. I look down at the girl struggling to hold on to her life and then down at my dirt and blood covered body. Nicholas grasps me more firmly this time as I scream louder.

"No! No! Irina!" I yell.

He drags me on the floor leaving cuts all up my body. I get one more glance of Irina's almost lifeless body before a needle sticks my arm and the world fades to darkness.

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	6. Chapter 6

**Hey Guys here is another chapter! I tried writing in a new format so bear with me! As usual don't own anything! Reviews are always appreciated!**

_**I am running through the hallways of the ship screaming for help, looking for a way out. Pain is shooting through every part of my body. Each hallway I turn down looks promising, but soon doors pop up out of nowhere and slam in my face, causing me more pain.**_ My eyes flash open just in time to see the Nicholas's knuckles flying at my face, I brace myself for the next blow, it almost knocks me into unconsciousness again. It had been like this for hours.

**Several hours before**

I wake up in an intense amount of pain; all the drugs have worn off. My hands are tied to the wooden chair I sit in. My wrist flames in pain from where Nicholas broke it. The glass that was wedged into my hands presses deeper into my skin. I struggle to free my hands from the rope, but they are tied securely. Just then the two guards I beat up fling the door open and crash in. They look at me with hunger and vengeance in their eyes.

"You think you can beat us up without any punishment bitch?" Nicholas screams at me and takes the first swing. The ring on his hand rips through my face, slicing open the side of my face. I writhe in pain in the chair, screaming. As the guards just laugh. They seem drunk. Blood rushes down my face blinding me and filling my mouth with that salty taste. For hours this continues they hit all parts of my body, crushing my ribs and slicing through my face. Until finally the other guard, Dmitry, hits me square in the temple slipping me into unconsciousness.

**Now **

Nicholas delivers another blow that hits my left arm. This one brings more tears to my eyes thinking back to that day not too long ago with Yuri in my backyard. Just before Dmitry can strike me again Vlad comes marching in through the door and orders the guards to retreat. They shook out there hands, spraying my blood all across the room. They walk out of the room laughing and close the door behind them. Vlad saunters up to me with a creepy grin spread across his face.

"It is a pity" he says, gesturing to my now broken face, "you were such a beauty. " I snarl at him bringing on another shot of pain and tears. He leans in close, inches from me.

"Sasha, I told you what would happen if you broke the rules." He said. "I told you I own you and I am going to get what I paid for" he whispers in my ear and with that he unzips my hoodie and I close my eyes.

**Later**

I wake up alone after I passed out from the pain. The ropes that bound my hand are gone and my clothes sit in a pile at my feet. I bend down to put them on. I gasp and stop. Pain like I have never felt before shoots through my body. I look down at my now purple and black stomach. _Just take a deep breath and count to ten I think to myself. _ I push myself to my feet wincing and groaning in pain. My face hurting the most.

One by one I pull on my articles of clothing, crying in pain. It takes me about 15 minutes to get dressed, hurt blazing through my body the whole time. I take a deep breath anticipating my first step to be torture. I take a step forward and agony rips through my whole body, in places I never thought possible. At this my body crumbles to the floor and I fall to pieces. The walls my Papa has taught me to build up around myself came crashing down. Tears I had been holding from the past few days pour out of my eyes .Vlad had really done it. I knew the terms of the job, but I had not really wrapped my head around it, until now. I would have to do this over and over and over again to greedier men than Vlad. I lay there on the floor motionless letting the past day's events take complete control over me. _Calm down Alexandra, everything will be okay you just have to stand up._

I take two deep breaths before beginning to move again. I work my way up in pieces; first sitting up, then crouching and finally to the standing position. _Just get to Vlad's desk I tell myself, continuing to give myself directions_. I take another step and the agony rips through me again, bringing tears to my eye, but I push through it. It takes me awhile, but I get to Vlad's desk. Leaning on it I take another deep breath. _The door was not that far before I got here_ I think, looking towards the door that is only about ten feet away. I am about to push myself off Vlad's desk when a letter opener catches my eye. I reach over, painfully of course, and grab it. I look at the glass wedged in my hand; _it is as good a time as any I think to myself. I cannot really be in much more pain than this._ I plunge the blade into my hand, wincing in pain as I dig the pieces out. I get most of the pieces out, but have a hard time willing myself to move. _Move Alexandra you do not want to be here when Vlad gets back I think._ I begin the slow trudge to the door, which almost kills me. I swing the door open and begin what feels like a marathon back to the living quarters.

I am almost there when I catch a reflection of myself in a mirror. I suck in a big breath as I see my reflection. I do not even recognize myself. My face is covered in a ray of purples, pinks, blacks and grays. My normal skin color only peaks out in a few places. Nicholas's ring leaves gashes strewn across my face. My tears have left tracks through my blood caked face. I reach my hand up to touch my unrecognizable face, my hand looking just as bad as my face. Blood still pours from them where I dug the glass out and bruises wrap around my wrist from the rope. I try to make myself look as presentable as possible, but I give up_. It is useless. _With a huff I return to my long walk towards our room. I finally reach the door, out of breath and hurting. I open the door my eyes searching for Irina, but all I find are terrified screaming girls when they see me. Irina is not here.

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	7. Chapter 7

**Hey guys thank you so much for those who always review! And to my new reviewers! Hope you enjoy it!**

Pain can be described as physical and emotional suffering. I had never truly known the definition of pain until now. The physical pain I had just endured could not compare to the agony that left a gaping hole in my heart. Irina was not here. I am alone, again. The walls and people move around me, tears stinging my eyes and blurring my vision. I take a shaky step and collapse to the floor. I hear the girls around me gasp. The only thing that had willed me to make it back to the room, to live, was gone. I had already lost one friend, Yuri. Thinking of him tears the hole in my heart open wider. Yuri was the best friend anyone could have asked for. I loved him. I would never see him again. I do not even have the energy to cry so I just lay, unmoving on the floor. The girl that had pointed me in Irina's direction makes her way over to me.

"Are you alright?" she asks. I do not answer her, but instead just look at her. She is tall and skinny. She looks athletic_. _She has long, curly, brown hair that is pulled back into a low ponytail. Her eyes are a mellow green. She does not ask me more questions, but merely sits at my side. It is somehow comforting.

The door opens behind me. I hear a woman's voice ordering someone to bring her some warm water and rags. That voice was the only thing that could have moved me from my spot on the floor. I turn and look at her. Her piercing blue eyes stare back at me.

"Irina" the words have barely escaped my lips before she falls to my side, tears streaming down her face.

"Sasha, what happened?" she asks. I hear the worry in her voice.

"Irina" I repeat.

"Shh I am here" she says, stroking my bruised and beaten face.

"How?" I ask tears once again flowing down my face.

"Viktor" She says. "After you left he took me into a separate room, bandaged me up and gave me something for the pain." she continues. "I got to rest for three days; I am just now getting back." She said. _Three days how long had I been out? _

"He saved my life. Well, after you did. Sasha I am so sorry, I never should have let you go to Vlad for me." She says through her tears. "I am so sorry." She repeats.

"It is okay" I tell her. "I am fine."

"Sasha you are not fine" she cries, gesturing to my crumpled body. Just then Viktor comes in with a bowel of warm water and a rag. Irina takes the rag, dips it in the water and begins scrubbing the blood off my face. I wail in pain.

"Shh I am sorry just a little bit more left." Irina tells me. After she removes the blood from my face she rocks back on her knees to look at me.

"Who are you?" she says finally noticing the girl sitting next to me.

"Natasha." She replies. _Her English is very good I notice now._

"Help me move her to our blankets." Irina orders.

Irina takes my feet and Natasha picks me up underneath my shoulders and they move me gently to our spot. I try to stay awake, but the past few days events overcome me and within minutes, I fall asleep.

A few hours later I wake up with a startle. My breathing seems off, I cannot quite catch my breath. My chest feels like there is a ton of bricks laying on it. I lay motionless trying to catch my breath. _Motionless! I have not felt like this in weeks. The boat has stopped moving. Why are we stopped? Are we in America?_

As if he had read my mind Nicholas burst through the door followed by Vlad and the rest of his guards. Nicholas claps his hands and motions for us to stand. Irina and Natasha each take one of my hands and pull me to a standing position. _I like her, hope we can be friends._ We file into a line in front of Nicholas. This leaves me more out of breath and the pain is almost unbearable. Irina looks at me, worried. I give her a half smile, wincing in the process. I lean on Natasha for support and we turn out attention to Nicholas.

"We have arrived." He says. The girls near me look around and whisper to each other. _Do they really not know what we are here for? _ _Whoa I think_ as a wave of pain hits my chest worse than before. My vision had completely gone black and I fall to the floor, seizing, as I tried to gasp for air one last time.

/

I stir at the sound of the voices yelling. I can make out Viktor's and Vlad's voice.

"She needs to be taken to the hospital now!" Viktor yells. The musty air of the ship is gone, but I am still floating in between consciousness and unconsciousness.

"Fine, Nicholas and Dmitry will escort you. Hurry I do not want to lose this one. "I hear Vlad say before I black out again.

/

I awake with a startle, my vision has returned, but my breathing has worsened. I wheeze at every breath, not inhaling near enough oxygen. Bright lights and white walls swim into my sight. I hear voices I do not recognize around me. I am laying on a cot being run down a long hallway.

"I need Doctor Pierce now!" a woman pushing my bed screams.

"Code blue, I repeat code blue." Another woman screams.

"Hang on baby girl. Look at me, stay awake." A woman on my left says. I try and focus on her features. She is African American, medium height with dark brown, curly, long hair and beautiful brown eyes; she is wearing bright pink scrubs. I breathe in loudly as my oxygen is getting cut off. They rush me into a room and hook up a bunch of machines to me. I hear my heart beat on one of the monitors, it is beating so fast. People swarm around me, the woman from before clutches at my hand.

"Come on honey, you can do it, think of something to live for" she says. Just then a tall man with brown hair and glasses rushes in.

"Status!" he shouts.

"I don't know, she is losing oxygen though." A different nurse shouts. I hear my heartbeat flat line on the monitor and I slip into death.

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	8. Chapter 8

**Hey guys so just want to apologize for any medical mistakes in this chapter. I really know nothing about medicine! Also this isn't my favorite chapter I have written, but I promise the next one will be better!**

* * *

_**I am running through the woods behind my beloved home, screaming with delight, as my usually so uptight and business father chases after me. The autumn wind blows through my hair. Leaves of rich colors blow by me. I reach out to catch them.**_

"_**I am going to get you!" he yells after me. I just laugh and run faster. He catches me and wrestles me to the ground in a pile leaves. He tickles me and I screech with laughter. Finally after we tire we begin to trek back to our house, but my Papa takes a detour down a path towards a cliff. We look out over the beautiful scenery. The Russian mountains and spectacular foliage takes my breath away, the sun is setting.**_

"_**This is stunning." I recite in perfect English.**_

"_**Your English has gotten good." He notes "Have you been practicing?" He asks. **_

"_**Vlad made us practice every day." I shuddered thinking back to my time there. "I do not want to go back to the scary place." I sniffle and tell my Papa.**_

"_**As much as I love you Alexandra, you must go back." He says, brushing the hair out of my face.**_

"_**Why?" I ask, I am about to start crying, I can feel it in my throat and eyes. **_

"_**Because you are destined to do great things, Alexandra." He says. "Remember that Alexandra, do not let anyone take that away from you." he says and with that he pushes me off the cliff sending me back to my worst nightmare.**_

My eyes flash open and I take in a huge gulp of air. My heart beat on the monitor sounds back to normal. Three nurses and the doctor all sigh and wipe the sweat from their faces. They all have a look of relief on their faces, the nurse from before even hugs me.

"I knew you could do it baby girl." She says. Her pet name for me brings a smile to my face. The doctor taps her on the shoulder.

"Could you try to get some information on her, for her file, I want to know what happened." He asks.

"Sure." She says and turns back to me and strokes my face. I feel no pain from this action. Why? I turn to see a morphine drip IV connected at my wrist and it answers all my questions. I lay back. _I could get used to this. No more pain, emotional or physical. _

"Baby girl I know you are tired, but I need to ask you a few questions okay?" the woman asks. I just nod.

"What is your name?" she asks.

"Sasha." I reply, heavy hearted I cannot tell the nice lady my real name.

"That sure is a pretty name baby girl, my name is Layla." She says. "What happened to you?" she asks. My brain, finally kicking on after the minute or so of death, reacts slower than I would have liked.

"Car accident" I reply. She does not seem convinced." What happened?" I ask.

"You died." She says with a chuckle, but the look of panic on my face brings her back to seriousness. "Your oxygen source cut off and your heart stopped. We suspected a punctured lung and maybe some internal bleeding. We barley revived you in time. We performed emergency surgery on you, but you will need to stay here for a little bit." She says.

The pain is starting to act up again, so they refill my morphine drip. Just then the doctor, from before, walks into the room, looking at my chart.

"Hello." He pauses looking at Layla.

"Sasha" she says answering his question.

"I am Doctor Aaron Pierce, how old are you Sasha?" he asks.

"Fourteen." I reply.

"Really, I have a son that age, Sean." He says pointing at a tall boy outside my window. Sean is sitting at the desk laughing with one of the nurses. His smile makes me smile, his dark chocolate brown eyes swimming with laughter. The nurse just laughs and runs her hand through his dark brown, thick but short hair.

"Sasha it looks like one of your ribs punctured your lungs in the car accident and caused some internal bleeding." He says looking at me. "That was some car accident" he says gesturing to my bruised, beaten body.

"Yes" I nod and gulp at the lie. My eyes still fixated on Sean. This time he catches my eye and looks back. He gives me a smile and a little half wave. I smile back.

"Alright I am going to go prep another room for you." Layla says. She grabs the doctor's wrist and leads him out of the room. I close my eyes willing for sleep to come when I feel two pairs of hands grab my arms and legs. My eyes snap open to see Nicholas and Dmitry lifting me off the bed. I start to scream but Dmitry's hand clasps over my mouth, muffling my scream.

"Shh be quiet, remember what happens when you do not follow the rules." Nicholas says with a grin and a wink. They drag me out into an empty hallway and through a back exit where Viktor has the car running. They shove me in the backseat and Viktor peels out of the parking lot. I look back, clutching my ribs as I try to keep my breathing steady, wishing for the morphine. Am I going to die?

"Where are we going?" I ask.

"Home." Nicholas replies. _Home, with the past week's events I do not even remember what home is. _

**Hope you guys enjoyed it! Your reviews will make this day less awful.**


	9. Chapter 9

**Hope you guys like it! Shout out to chillthebeans as always for reviewing!**

My new home is an underground building near a bar in Manhattan. It is dark, smelly and old. There is a hallway lined with mattresses for each girl. Cloths of different colors hang in front, providing a little privacy. Nicholas and Dmitry shove me down on a mattress next to Natasha and another mattress, but there is no girl there.

"Welcome home." Dmitry says while I rub my wrists, finally freed from the restraints. They walk off down the hallway to a room at the end where I am guessing is Vlad's room.

"Are you alright?" Natasha asks slurring her words.

"Yes, fine, where is Irina?" I ask looking around for the young girl. Natasha nods towards Vlad's room and continues picking at a string on her hoodie. I gulp thinking about Irina with Vlad. I situate myself on the mattress and finally take a good look at Natasha. Her eyes are glazed over, she is sweating and she is swaying back and forth. She is high, and as I look around I notice so are the rest of the girls.

"How about you lay down." I say to her, helping her onto her back.

"You are to kind." She says and within seconds is passed out like some of the other girls. I pull a blanket on her and wipe the sweat from her forehead. I wait for Irina, and what after seems like hours she emerges from Vlad's room. She tries to run towards me, but my guess is she has never walked in heels before by the way she stumbles towards me.

"Sasha, you are alive." She exclaims, pulling me in for a hug. I groan in pain where I hit my ribs on her. "Sorry!" she cries, tears forming in her eyes.

"It is fine, why are you dressed up like that?" I ask surveying her. She is in a gold sequenced dress that barley covers her. It is v necked down to her mid chest, with tank top style straps. It stops a little higher than mid-thigh. She has about 5 inch black heels on. Her beautiful black hair is down covering her shoulders.

"My first job." She replies trembling a little. Her Russian accent is more apparent under the stress and fear. This time I am the one to pull her in for a hug.

"So soon?" I ask.

"I leave in an hour." She says, trying to regain her strength.

"I am so sorry, everything will be okay." I say as she pulls out of the hug. She nods and gives me a fake smile, knowing well that nothing will be okay.

"Is Natasha alright?" she asks, pointing towards the passed out girl.

"I think so, I do not know what kind of drugs they gave her." I say worriedly, surveying the girl, shaking in her sleep.

"She is a very nice girl; she helped me while you were gone." Irina says. "I had my first meeting with Vlad." She says, tears welling up in her eyes again. I just gulp and hug her again.

"Luckily they put us together." She says turning to the once empty mattress next to mine. She pulls out a box of makeup.

"Help me put it on?" she asks.

"Of course" I say taking the box from her.

/

Half an hour later Irina's makeup is done and she looked gorgeous. Even under the circumstances.

"You look very pretty." I tell her after she does a spin. I laugh as she almost falls.

"Thanks, I need to work on the walking though." She says giggling. "And if the dress was a little longer." She says tugging on the bottom of it.

"I know it is enough material to cover an infant." I say looking at the dress more now.

"Not like it is going to be on for long." Irina says trembling again. She is close to breaking down. I take her hand and give it an encouraging squeeze. She looks as she is about to say something, but Nicholas pulls back the cloth and she stops herself.

"Let's go." Nicholas orders grabbing Irina. She shoulders him off.

"I can walk." She says, while stumbling along in the tall heels. I smirk, mouth the words good luck and she is gone. I lay back on my bed wishing for rest and wishing Irina did not have to do this now. It was sick these men treating us like we are not real people. Something they can buy, use and throw away. I close my eyes ,in an attempt to calm myself, and Sean's face appears in front of me. I can see every detail of his face. His smile, his eyes, I can see it all. It brings a smile to my face.

/

After hours of sleep Irina comes waltzing back through the door, holding her heels and a wad of money. She holds her head up high and walks through the hallway. Still high girls reach out to touch her, but she avoids them and their gaze, except for me. She shoots me a look that says all the confidence is an act. _She is trying to make it look better for other girls. Only Irina would do something as noble. _She pauses a little before opening Vlad's door. She takes a deep breath and pushes it open and walks in. She spends about twenty minutes in Vlad's room before she stumbles out looking like Natasha had. So that was the deal. He sells us and when we bring back money he gives us drugs, the more money the more drugs. That is disgusting.

Irina falls to the floor in front of her mattress. I run to catch her, but I am too late. Seeing her crumpled up on the floor like that, I make up my mind. _We are getting out, first chance we get. _ I run to Irina's side and hoist her up onto the mattress. I pull a blanket over her and whisper in her ear.

"I will get us out, all three of us, first chance we get." Shock registers on her face and she nods, but I do not know if she really understands. I retire back to my spot hoping to get in a few more hours of sleep, but it seems things are not going my way today when Natasha sits up and lets out a blood curdling scream.

"Where is he?" she screams at the top of her lungs. "Where did you take him?" she is still screaming. I grab her thrashing limbs in an attempt to calm her.

"Shh Natasha, I am right here." I whisper. _This must be an effect of the drugs I think. Who is she talking about? Why will she not wake up? _ She goes limp in my arms, finally waking of the nightmare. Tears stream down her face. I move to sit next to her.

"He took him." She says shaking and sobbing. "He took him from me." She cries. I try my best to comfort her.

"Who took him?" I ask her.

"My father." She says quivering.

"Who did your father take?" I say. She can barely bring herself to say it and when she does she whispers it.

"My son."

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	10. Chapter 10

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* * *

"Your what?" I exclaimed, shocked at the statement. She just sniffles and nods, unable to speak. I wrap my arms around her rubbing her shoulders, not wanting to press for information. She lets herself cry her eyes out for about an hour, tears soaking through my shirt. Finally she lets out a shuddery breath and picks her head up off my shoulder.

"He was 8 months old." She says a smile coming to her face, thinking of her son. "He had short black hair, from his father, bright green eyes, and the cutest smile you had ever seen." "We named him Anton." Tears form in the corner of her eyes again.

"Who was the father?" I ask, not wanting to bring up him getting taken away just yet. Another smile spreads across her face.

"His name was Aleksey. He was the love of my life. He was so kind; he was funny, handsome and smart." She says. Her eyes filled with laughter as she is thinks of a memory with him.

"What happened?" I ask, fearing the answer. She takes another shaky breath, verging on tears again.

"We were going to move away from my Papa. My Mama died about 6 years ago, when I was 12. After that my father got horrible, he treated me and my younger siblings horribly. Never feeding us enough and always working us to the core. I gave up my food a lot of times for them. "

"Tell me about your siblings." I ask.

"My little brother, Illya, is six. He has brown hair like me, but deep brown eyes. He is so energetic and fun. He loves to learn new things. My little sister, Elena, is four. She had bright green eyes and beautiful blonde hair, like my mother. She laughs at everything, even though we had it hard. They lit up my life that is why I decided to keep Anton." She says.

"They sound amazing. What happened after that?" I ask.

"My father was so mad when he found out I was pregnant. I was 17. We found a house for all of us, except my father." She's says and begins to cry again. "I do not know what happened; it had to be my fault." She is sobbing again.

"Shh, it is okay, take your time. " I say, rubbing her back.

"He found out we were leaving. I do not know how. One night I was up with Anton and he came in my room and ripped Anton from my arms. I tried to fight back, but he was too strong. He threw him outside, where men were waiting and they drove off with him. My father grabbed me and threw me in the back of his car and brought me to Vlad." She says tears still pouring from her eyes. I wipe the tears from the exhausted girls face. "I will never see them again, any of them." She coughs into my shirt.

"Yes you will I promise, I told Irina I would get you both out and I never break promises." I say. She lifts her face out of my shirt.

"You promise?" she asks. I nod.

"Yes I promise." I say

"Can you keep a secret?" she whispers. I nod, wondering what she has not already told me. She reaches into the lining of her mattress and pulls out a piece of paper. She hands it to me, looking around to make sure no one saw us. I turn it over the paper and see it is a photograph. There is a smiling baby and a boy, Anton and Aleksey.

"Natasha, they are beautiful." I say handing her the photograph back, but I am worried. "How did you keep this from Vlad?" I ask.

"I hid it in my sock." She says, carefully putting the photograph back into its hiding place. "You will not tell anyone right?" she asks.

"I promise." I tell her again. I want so badly to take my Papa's watch from its hiding spot in my pillow case and show it to her. But Igor's words of warning come back into my head. _Do not tell anyone who you_ _are. _

"Natasha, it is not safe to keep that here. If someone found it, they could find your family and kill them." I say.

"No one will find it." she says, trying to convince her and me. I pull her into a hug

We sit like this for a while, until the day's events take a toll on Natasha and she drifts off to sleep. I lay her down, brushing the hair out of her tear soaked face. I climb back into my bed and begin to settle down. Thinking of Natasha's family, I drift off.

I wake to a smiling Nicholas standing at the edge of my bed. I sit up quickly and wrap my blanket tighter to my chest.

"Vlad wants to see you." he says with his heavy Russian accent. I push myself off the bed and my bare feet hit the cold, concrete ground. Nicholas grabs my arm tightly and leads me to Vlad's room. I shake my arm out of his grasp.

"Why did Vlad hire you as a guard if a fourteen year old girl can beat you up?" I ask, smirking at my own comment. Rage flashes on Nicholas's face. I just laugh. He pushes me through Vlad's door smashing my head into the door frame.

"Do not talk to me like that!" He yells. I just chuckle and murmur a sarcastic apology.

"Sasha," his voice sends chills down my spine. "I see your face has done well healing." Vlad says, surveying my face. I nod. "Good, clients do not like bruised girls." He says flipping through a binder.

"Maybe you should not have beaten me up" I say. This takes Vlad by surprise. He loses his confidence for a split second at my strength. _Gotcha! I think as I try to pinpoint his weaknesses._ I survey the room, looking for ways we can escape. Vlad's desk sits in the middle of the room. Stacks of binders and books are compiled around the room. A plush rug covers the floor. The walls are strict concrete, but there is a small window in the corner of the room. Vlad regains his confidence and finally stops looking through the binder. He points to a picture in it.

"This will be your new client, Josh." He says.

"What if I refuse?" I ask, rolling my eyes. He reaches into a lower drawer in his desk and pulls two things out; a pair of black heels and a gun. He puts them both on the desk in front of me. I gulp, unable to take my eyes off of the gun sitting in front of me.

"Make your choice" he says. I way both options and walk forward, making one of the most important decision of my life.

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	11. Chapter 11

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It was today; my birthday. January I was fifteen, and today was my first job. I sit up in my bed, thinking of yesterday's events.

_**I reached out and grabbed the back of the heels, deciding I want to live another day. I weighed the option of shooting Vlad, but I could see that ending badly. I had already made the guards mad enough; they would be too quick to kill me. Also I really have no idea how to use a gun. **_

"_**Good choice." Vlad says smiling. "You will start tomorrow, rest up." He says chuckling to himself. In disgust I turn and practically sprint, with fear, back to my mattress. **_

_**I sit down and begin to hyperventilate. I am not ready, I cannot do this. I can feel someone wrap their arms around me, I look up to see Irina. She is still shaky from the withdrawal of the drugs. **_

"_**Shh, it is okay. That is how I felt, but you are stronger. You will be okay. The other girls need you to be, I need you to be." She says. I take a deep breath. I would not let them suffer, if they needed me to be strong for them I would, even if I could not be for myself. **_

"_**I can do it." I say into her shirt. **_

_**Tears stream down her face. "Just try to get some sleep; I will help you get ready tomorrow." She says. I nod and lean back pulling my blankets up over my head. It takes me a while, but I finally slip into sleep. **_

I stretch my limbs out, trying to put off the inevitable. Natasha stirs next to me, but Irina is dead to the world.

"You ready?" Natasha asks me. I look at her she is sitting up and well. The drugs have worn out of her system.

"Ready as I will ever be." I say stuttering. I shake Irina awake.

"Mmm." She groans. "Five more minutes, please?" She asks.

"I am afraid I do not have that time." I say, verging on tears, but I am trying to stay strong. She sits straight up.

"Whoa." She says clutching her head. "Drugs." she says.

"They are not here right now." I say, confused how somebody could get hooked so fast.

"No, no, I do not want them, just stating the fact that they are killing my head." She says with a laugh.

"Oh." I say and breathe a sigh of relief.

Nicholas appears at the end of my bead holding a dress.

"For today." He says, handing the dress to me. I take it and he turns on his heel and leaves. I stroke the silver dress. _At least the material is nice I think. _I slip off my rags and slither on the new dress. It is a silvery, silk material. It is tight and short. It is one shoulder and the one sleeve is long. I slip on the black heels. I sit on the bed and take a deep breath. I feel Natasha's fingers run through my hair.

"Would you like me to braid it for you?" she asks. I smile and nod. She braids it in a long French braid down my back. I let Irina put my makeup on and finally I am ready. I hope. We sit in silence all piled on my bed until Nicholas comes to fetch me.

"Shall we?" he asks, holding his arm out. I get up, hug each of my friends and walk past Nicholas's outstretched hand and out the door.

We step out into the snowy weather, me shivering in the tiny dress. He leads me to a car parked not far from the door. I climb in the passenger seat, and off we go. I sit uncomfortably for the half an hour car ride, trying to make the dress shorter. We arrive at a tall hotel building. Nicholas gets out of the car and opens my door. He slips me a hotel key card.

"Room 922." He says. We step in to the magnificent lobby. The heat washes over me, a luxury I have not felt in a while. We walk into the elevator alone and he punches the number nine. We ride awkwardly with the elevator music making my nerves even more jumpy. _It was real, it was happening._ The elevator dings and I step out of it into a long hallway. He leads me to the front door of the room. I am about to put the keycard when he grabs my wrist.

"One hour, get in and get out with the cash. Do not try anything or we will have to kill you." he says. I gulp and nod.

"No need to keep reminding me." I say, he just chuckles. _He is being oddly nice_ I think.

He lets go of my wrist and I swipe the keycard. The light turns green and I enter the room. A tall 30 something man, Josh I presume, waits on the couch. He smiles when he sees me.

"Hello, you must be Sasha." He says looking at me hungrily. I just smile. "Would you like some champagne?" he asks pointing to a bottle on the table.

"That would be great." I say, trying to stop myself from shaking. He pours me a glass and hands it to me. I take it graciously and drink it with one gulp. It burns all the way down my throat, but it calms my nerves a little. He wraps his arm around my waist. I clench up and start breathing harder.

"The bedroom is this way." He whispers in my ear, leading me to the next room. I stumble out of my heels as he is basically running. He spins me to face him and plants a huge kiss on my lips. I bump into the bed and fall onto it. His weight crushes me, his lips crashing onto mine. Tears begin to fall from my eyes, but he does not seem to notice. If someone had told me on my last birthday this would be where I was in a year I would not believe them.

Last year

_I spring out of bed, throw my clothes on quickly and rush down the stairs. I almost make it outside but Papa catches my arm and spins me around. He pulls me into a hug and says;_

"_Happy Birthday Alexandra." _

"_Thank you Papa!" I say. "Can I go play with Yuri now?" I ask, hoping he says yes. He messes up my hair and laughs. _

"_Of course you can Alexandra, it is your birthday!" he says. I smile and hug him again before running out into the snow covered yard to play with Yuri. We kick around a soccer ball, make snow angels, and have tickle fights all day long until the sun sets. We watch the sun go down. The colors are rays of orange, red, yellow and pink. It is breath taking. I am leaning on Yuri. I could live in this moment forever. I hear my mother calling me to get ready for my birthday dinner. _

_I run upstairs and hop in the shower letting the hot water warm my frozen body. I pull on my nicest dress and shoes. I pull my hair back and bound down the stairs._

_In our dining room a huge feast has been set up; Mama, Papa, Yuri and his parents stand around the table, waiting for me. We sit down and talk while our food is served to us; a leafy salad, a roast duck and potatoes, my favorite. We chatter about the day's events and my birthday gifts. One by one they are brought to me. I get a beautiful new dress and a new pair of shoes from Mama and Papa, as well as a bracelet from Yuri's parent._

"_Alexandra, your present from me is upstairs" Yuri says with his Russian accent. My face lights up with curiosity. He grabs my hand and leads me upstairs. He points to my room._

"_In there!" he says excitedly, but also a little nervously. I burst in the room and look around. There is nothing there. I spin around to ask Yuri what his gift is when he grabs my face and brings his lips to mine. His lips are warm and soft. I start to fight back, but then I melt into his kiss. Finally we both need to come up for air. I look into his dark colored coffee eyes looking for an explanation but he just smiles and waltzes out of the door like nothing happened. _

I snap back to reality as Josh finally rolls off of me. I breathe a sigh of relief. I instantly grab my dress and slip it back on.

"Leaving so soon?" he says stroking my cheek. I do not say anything. "You barley have said anything since you got here." He states.

"Where is my money?" I say. He gives me a disgusted look and reaches into the nightstand and hands me a wad of money.

"Like you actually earned it" he says under his breath.

I just pull on my heels and stalk out the door, slamming it behind me. I do not make it to the elevator before I burst into tears, wishing so baldy for last year's birthday, for Yuri. The elevator doors close behind me and I sink down to the floor, a blubbering mess. I cry my eyes out, something I had been trying not to do while we were "home". I let all my emotions flow out of me, the hatred for Josh, the love for Yuri, the longing for home. After a while I just feel too empty to cry another tear, so I take two deep breaths, wipe my eyes and stand up. I put the money in my clutch and tuck it under my arm. I push the 1st floor button and ride the elevator to the lobby, where Nicholas is waiting for me.

We walk back into the cold crisp January air. We get back in the car and begin the long ride "home". I watch as two parents swing their daughter around on the sidewalk. She is giggling so much, as are her parents. I let another tear fall down my face. _Happy birthday Sasha _I think. I stop myself and sit up right then. I let another round of tears stream down my face. I shake in my seat as I realize I have broken my one promise to my Papa. I had forgotten who I really was. I had done it; I had called myself Sasha.

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